While it may seem that summer is over when school begins or when we’re technically not allowed to wear white anymore, it actually ends on the autumnal equinox in late September. This year, according to the Farmer’s Almanac, it is September 22nd at 1:44pm PDT.

This is the time of year when that late summer light lends a sense of timelessness and I’m reminded of how living near the ocean is so much a part of who I am. I grew up by the beach in Southern California and (with my parents being marine biologists) I spent summers in coastal areas all over the US including Friday Harbor, Washington; Cape Cod Massachusetts; Fire Island, New York; Bar Harbor, Maine; Monterey Bay and Catalina Island, California.

Growing up on the coast and living where the land meets the sea has had a profound influence on me, and I think that must be why, as I shared in an interview with Studio Webware last month, my favorite color palette is “anything to do with the ocean.” This palette, like the ocean itself, is dynamic — it includes the beach and cliffs as well as the ever-shifting waters of the sea.

What I love about the ocean and the water, is that it has so many personalities. It can be tranquil, sophisticated, treacherous or warm. It can be cold, playful, or stately — awe-inspiring, breathtaking or even quaint. It can evoke an episode of Gidget or invite a romantic moonlight stroll.

Today, on the autumnal equinox, when day and night will be of equal length, I find myself reflecting on the beautiful, cyclical nature of life. Treasured memories of starfish and beach shovels covered in sand… and of being called in to dinner by my parents tumble about with the playful shouts of my family and the knowledge that tonight my heart will kindle as I call my own boys in from the pool.